Hello! It's been 4 years but I just found my way back to this website and I read my other fanfics and reviews and decided to continue this! I had promised to write chapter 9 in Thorne's pov but never got around to it. So here it is! 4 years later lmao If you're interested, I have other chapters from Winter written in Thorne's pov! I would love hear what you think! Enjoy! :D

The first thing Thorne saw when he opened his eyes was the light of the beeping portscreen on the table beside his bed. He groaned and reached over to shut off the alarm. He saw that the time on the portscreen was half past eleven and realized that he had slept in much later than he wanted.

He stretched and rubbed his eyes, blinking up at the ceiling.

It took him all of three seconds to realize that he could see.

He could see.

He sat up quickly and closed his eyes before opening them again. He looked around the room. He could see everything from his uniform crumbled on the floor to his discarded bandana on the nightstand. He let out a shocked laugh that held more than a little bit of relief. Thank the stars! He was starting to worry if he would be blind forever. Cress had been the most helpful and optimistic these past few weeks, but even she was getting impatient.

Thorne inhaled sharply. Cress. She's going to be the most excited to see that he got his sight back. Thorne quickly dressed and stumbled to the bathroom. He looked at his reflection and noticed the scuffle of hair along his jawline. He had been diligent about shaving but it was difficult to do when he couldn't see and although he thought he looked handsome with a little facial hair, he wanted to go back to his usually clean-shaven look.

As he shaved, he couldn't help but think about Cress. She had been invading his thoughts a lot lately despite the end of the world looming over their heads. Levana's continuous threat lingered over everyone like a stubborn rain cloud. But under that annoying rain cloud was always Cress. Cheerful, sweet Cress who made him feel like maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all.

He had to remind himself constantly that they were just friends and that he couldn't flirt with her. Of course, he flirted with her occasionally, but he was always met with silence. He wished he could see her expression, to see what she was thinking. It seems she had finally accepted that her crush on him was just a crush and that she didn't have any romantic feelings for him beyond that. It was for the best. Even if it did make Thorne want to punch a wall for reasons he couldn't explain.

Just friends.

Cress had become such an important person to him in such a short time that the thought of losing her made him want to die. He couldn't deny his growing affection for her as she helped him these past few weeks. All he could do was ignore the bubbly feeling in his stomach when he thought of her, when she was near.

Thorne had successfully shaved his face and brushed his teeth, and he left his room feeling oddly nervous. He had no reason to be, of course. But still…

He went to the cockpit first, expecting to see Cress or Cinder but nobody was there. Strangely, he didn't see anyone in the kitchen or the crew cabins either.

"Hey Darla?"

"Yes, Captain?" The voice echoed off the Rampion's walls.

"Where is my crew?"

"They are gathered in the cargo bay, Captain."

"Thanks, gorgeous."

As Thorne neared the cargo bay entrance, he heard the voices of his crew. He still couldn't believe he could call them that. They may not have considered themselves his crew but they were a crew nonetheless. He's always wanted one and now, as he stopped near the entrance and admired them, he felt nothing but happiness. His crew.

"...I'm pretty sure Thorne stole it." Cinder was saying. She was sitting cross-legged in the center of the cargo bay, organizing an array of weapons. Her hair was tied up in her typical ponytail and she of course had a grease stain on her forehead, but she looked good. Happy even. Thorne was certain the happiness came mostly because of the handsome prince‒no, emperor‒standing nearby.

Thorne's eyes glanced over his crew until they landed on the one person he wanted to see more than anyone else.

The last time he actually saw her with his eyes she was frantically trying to save them from crash-landing on Earth. He didn't really have a chance to admire her then, especially with her tangled mess of long blonde hair.

Now he could see her clearly. She was tiny next to the large crates and even smaller in comparison to Wolf who was only a few paces away from her. Her blonde hair was cropped just below her chin giving him a full view of her slender neck and delicate shoulders. What stunned him more than anything else were her eyes, as cerulean blue as the sea. They sparkled under the flourescent lights of the cargo bay.

He stared at her in surprise. She was much prettier than he remembered. He couldn't look away.

"...He'd better plan on giving all this stuff back." Kai was saying. Thorne shook himself out of his daze.

"Sure I'll give it back, Your Majesticness. For a proper finder's fee."

Everyone turned to look at him but his eyes were on Cress again. And her eyes…aces help the man she sets those gorgeous eyes on forever. It was like someone punched him in the gut. She quite literally took his breath away.

"The short hair," he said with a half smile, "it works."

She reached up and touched her hair, still looking at him in shock. He wanted to say more, but someone else cut him off.

"Oh! Captain! You can see!" Thorne had seconds to brace himself as a bundle of blue launched into his arms.

He stumbled back ."Iko?" Thorne said, holding her at arm's distance and drinking her in. The dark, flawless skin, the long legs, the braids dyed in varying shades of blue. She was stunningly beautiful. Accepting the scrutiny, Iko gave a twirl. Thorne clicked his tongue. "Aces. I really know how to pick them, don't I?"

"Sight unseen," said Iko, flipping her braids off her shoulder.

"Excellent," said Cinder, standing up and brushing off her hands. "I was beginning to worry we wouldn't have a pilot for when it's time to take Kai back to Earth. Now I just have to worry about not having a competent one."

Thorne grinned and made his way over the Cress, leaning against the crate she was rummaging through. He tried not to obviously stare at her, even though that's all he wanted to do. Instead he looked at Cinder and gave her a charming smile. "Oh, Cinder, I've missed seeing your face when you make sarcastic comments in an attempt to hide your true feelings about me."

"Please." Rolling her eyes, Cinder started organizing the guns against the wall.

"See that eye roll? It translates to 'How am I possibly keeping my hands off you, Captain?'"

"Yeah, keeping them from strangling you."

Kai folded his arms, grinning. "How come no one told me I had such steep competition?"

Cinder glared. "Don't encourage him."

Cress, with her arms full of cans, suddenly spun toward the cargo bay entrance so quickly that one of the cans fell out of her arms. Thorne caught swiftly and smiled. "Lightning-fast reflexes. Still got them." He took some canned corn off the stack in her arms. "Want help?"

Cress's gaze remained firmly on the cans in her arms. It was as if she was avoiding eye contact with him. "No-thank-you-I've-got-it." Her words were all rushed and if he hadn't been paying such close attention to her, he probably wouldn't have understood what she had said.

"All right," Thorne said slowly, nestling the cans back into her arms. He furrowed his brow, feeling his heart sink a little. "If you insist."

Cress dodged around him and made her way out of the cargo bay. Thorne watched her until she disappeared.

He tried to focus on the conversation but his thoughts were consumed by Cress and her strange behavior. Could she possibly be angry with him? If so, what did he do? It seemed as though the fact that he had gotten his eyesight back was not as thrilling to her as it was to him. He had thought she would have at least been happy…

Cress silently returned and he looked at her, hoping to catch her eye, but she kept her gaze on Kai, who was speaking.

"I understand this is sooner than we'd expected," Kai was saying, "but now that Thorne can finally see again, what are we waiting for? We can leave tomorrow. We could leave now."

Cinder shook her head. "There's so much to do. We still have the video to edit, and we haven't confirmed which route we're going to take to the outer sectors, and—"

"All things you don't need my help for," interrupted Kai. "All things you can be working on while I'm doing my part. People are dying every day. My people are being attacked at this very moment, and I can't do anything for them up here."

Thorne listened to the exchange in silence. He tried to focus but his thoughts were filled with Cress, who was also very silent. He kept glancing at her but she stubbornly refused to acknowledge him. The fact made his stomach drop. She must be angry with him then.

He searched through his memory, trying to figure out what it was that he did or said that would have caused her anger. But before he could wallow in self-anger for too long, he heard Cinder's solemn voice. "Ship, turn on cargo bay netscreen, Commonwealth newsfeed."

Kai frowned. "What's going on?"

The netscreen flickered to life. It showed Kai's chief adviser—Konn Torin—standing at a podium. Before the audio signal could connect, though, Cinder said, "I'm so sorry, Kai. Your palace is under attack."